Hill International, a global leader in managing construction risk, said it has been awarded a three-year extension to its existing engineering consultancy services contract for the exansion of Muscat International Airport and Salalah Airport.

Oman's Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Public Authority for Civil Aviation had awarded the contract to the US construction major in 2012.

The expansion of Muscat International Airport, the largest airport in Oman, includes a new terminal that will have a capacity of 12 million passengers annually, said Hill in its statement.

The expansion of Salalah, the second largest airport in the sultanate, involves upgrading it from primarily a domestic airport to make it more suitable for international travellers, including building a new runway long enough to handle the A380 Airbus, and a new terminal that will improve the airport's capacity to one million passengers annually.

The one-year extension has an estimated value to Hill of approximately RO30.1 million ($78.2 million), it added.
 
Mohammed Al Rais, the regional president (Middle East) for Hill's Project Management Group, said: "It is an honour to continue to serve the Ministry to help deliver these critical aviation projects. Upon completion, they will have an immediate positive impact on both business and tourism in the region."

Hill International, with 4,800 employees in 100 offices worldwide, provides program management, project management, construction management, construction claims and other consulting services primarily to the buildings, transportation, environmental, energy and industrial markets.-TradeArabia News Service